


What we are

by Kinn



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Aphrodisiacs, M/M, Xeno
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-15
Updated: 2017-01-14
Packaged: 2018-09-17 13:43:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,458
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9327323
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kinn/pseuds/Kinn
Summary: After defecting from Zarkon, Sendak reluctantly joins Team Voltron. He and Shiro grow closer together.





	

**Author's Note:**

> The temperature given is in Fahrenheit, and it equals about 4 degrees Celsius.
> 
> Aphrodisiacs appear, but they don't lead to porn.
> 
> There will be porn in this story, but that'll be in the next chapter.
> 
> Hope you all enjoy!

A small light blinks on the map of the star system Allura pulled up on the screens, a few inches away from the castle's icon. Shiro tears his eyes away from the map, looking around the room and taking stock of everyone's moods. 

All eight of them gathered as soon as the castle's systems picked up the distress beacon. Allura and Coran are right in front of the screen, manning the controls. Pidge is near them, pushing up her glasses as she puzzles out the detailed readings on the screen. 

The blinking light hovers near a remote gas giant, isolated from any other planets and ships. And from help.

"Perfect place to set a trap," Keith's voice sounds from his right, glaring at the map. Shiro waits until Keith glances back at him, then gives him a quick nod. Though he doesn't know if the comment stems from paranoia or Keith's eagerness to move on, Shiro can't help but agree. 

"While that may be true, we can't abandon those in need. If that distress beacon is coming from someone innocent, it's our duty to help them. We have to be sure," Allura says. With a flick of her wrist, the map on the screen expands into a hologram that fills the room.

"Besiiides," Lance says, his voice overconfident as he drags out the word, "we just passed that asteroid belt. It's possible a smaller ship got damaged in there." 

He shrugs his shoulders, turning to look anywhere but at Hunk or Pidge. "It happens to the best of us."

Shiro feels like there's a story there, but neither Hunk nor Pidge mention it. Instead, Hunk points at the gas giant, clasping Lance's shoulder with his other hand. "Yeah, but does anyone remember how we got close to Zarkon's command center? I'm with Keith on this," Lance lets out an incredulous noise before Hunk continues, "the Galra could be setting up an ambush as we speak."

The determined look on Allura's face only grows at the mention of Zarkon's name. "And we mustn't let the Galra get their hands on Voltron."

"Their distress signal is coming through incredibly strong and clear, though. If I could get my hands on that technology, I'm pretty sure I could reverse engineer something to boost our lions' communication systems," Pidge says, earning a huff from Keith as he crosses his arms.

"Only if we'll still have them afterwards."

"What's the matter, Keith? Scared of a little distress signal?" 

"All right," Shiro speaks up. His words are loud and final, wanting to prevent another bickering session amongst his team. "It might be a trap, or it might be people in need of our help. We can't leave innocent people to die, but we can't lead Voltron into a trap either. We'll need more information before we can decide on a course of action."

From the corner of his eyes, he sees his team tense, but there's no escaping it. This discussion is going nowhere without the added insight. He turns to the figure standing on his left, far away from anybody else in the room.

"Sendak. You know Galran tactics better than anybody here. What can you tell us about this?"

Sendak turns away from the map, and looks right at him. If it weren't for his usual stoic demeanor, Shiro would say it looked like he caught Sendak unprepared, like he hadn't expected to be called upon. 

Shiro doesn't look away, no matter how long Sendak stays quiet. Behind him, Shiro hears the rustling of clothes as the others shift around anxiously. Like Sendak, Shiro remains still as a statue, a challenge in his eyes. This is Sendak's chance to prove himself useful.

Sendak's biological eye narrows a fraction. His ingrained disdain seems to fade, and he stands up straighter, turning back to the map.

"The Red Paladin is right," Sendak starts. 

" _Keith_ ," Shiro corrects. He doubts Keith has much regard for how Sendak addresses him, but this is a matter of principle to him. If they're going to work together, they have to tolerate each other enough to use real names. It's a reminder to everybody that they're part of the same team. They're no longer on opposite sides. 

Shiro hopes they'll all come to respect each other, and maybe even trust in each other. But he also knows respect and trust only occur naturally. He can't force them anymore than he can force the sun to rise.

So he can't help a small smile when Sendak neither grumbles, nor glares at him for his interruption. "Keith," he continues, "is right. This area is controlled by Garron. What he lacks in strength, he makes up for with cunning." There is a lilt of praise in his voice, but Shiro had expected Sendak to harbor lingering feelings for the Galra empire. A loyalty of decades doesn't crumble overnight.

"He commandeers civilian vessels and sends them to a system where background radiation masks any military ships that lie in wait, making them undetectable. Then he emits a boosted distress signal as bait to lure in enemies of the Empire."

"Like the terrifying Malphyctus of Derrilas V!" Coran gasps.

From the corner of his eyes, Shiro can see Lance crossing his arms. Knowing Lance, he's jutting out his lip in a pout and ready to ask whether they can trust Sendak—a valid question, if Shiro's honest. 

Sendak surprises them all by continuing to offer up more information. 

"But if your engineer can benefit from the technology, you should engage Garron," he continues, his voice deep and powerful. He clearly enunciates every word, taking the time to let the syllables roll off his tongue in a way that displays confidence and authority. Shiro feels a flutter of anticipation in his stomach when Sendak smirks at him, "I outrank him for a reason, and I know several tactics to counter his."

Shiro's no longer idealistic enough to assume a lack of _reason_ to lie or harm equals a lack of _intent_ to lie or harm. But to ignore Sendak's input now would be a crucial mistake. It would widen the gap between them when they should bridge it. So he gives Sendak a guarded smile, and answers. "Okay. We're listening."

\-----

"-in. Are you there, Shiro?" Pidge's voice crackles in his ears. The cave system they've been scouring for another Balmera crystal interferes with the signal, distorting Pidge’s voice into a buzz of white noise. Shiro strains to distinguish her words from the background static.

He's glad he made Pidge stay behind near the entrance on the surface to coordinate their exploration. If she'd been in another arm of this cave system, she wouldn't have been able to reach him at all.

He stops, resting his hand on the rocks behind him as he takes a second to get his breathing under control. Water drips from cracks in the ceiling, leaving the surface of the walls wet and shiny, and the temperature humid.

His cheeks are so flushed and warm that Shiro feels like a radiator. The humidity has been bothering him for the last half hour, but he has no choice but to toughen it out if they want to find another crystal. At least the visor of his helmet doesn't fog up. 

Of course, Sendak seems entirely unbothered, charging straight through the middle of the cave like he's marching cadets down the hallway of his old ship. Looking at the ease with which Sendak moves only serves to make him feel even more agitated and flushed in turn. He'd look away, but there's nothing else to look at in the cave, except for Sendak's large form ahead of him.

Pidge is a welcome distraction.

Shiro brings his hand up to his helmet, pressing it closer against his ear so he can hear her better. "I'm here, Pidge. Is everything okay?" 

A few feet ahead, Sendak stops to wait and twists to look at him. Shiro acknowledges him with a short nod. As he awaits Pidge's answers, his eyes run down Sendak's chest and shoulder armor again. 

They should find a spot to insert a communication port into Sendak's clothes. It's been weeks since he defected from the Galra Empire, and Shiro has been inviting him on more and more missions—though Shiro ensures he always stays with Sendak, if they must split up in teams. 

In a case of emergency, Sendak should be able to reach everybody else. Or if Allura or Coran issue a warning, Sendak should be able to receive it as well. When it's just the two of them, they're both relying on Shiro's helmet for communication. 

When his eyes reach the strap of armor cinched above Sendak's hips, the heat on his cheeks grows worse, moving down his throat and warming his chest. His heartbeat and breathing picks up, and Shiro closes his eyes to clear his mind. It's just a little humidity. He can't let that get to him.

“Do you see any, uh,” Pidge says, and Shiro picks up on someone else’s voice in the background. The sound is too fuzzy to discern their identity. Pidge sounds frustrated, but her words aren't rushed or alarmed. It can’t be anything serious, then. Shiro breathes a sigh of relief, lowering his shoulders and arms from his guarded stance. 

“Yeah, I’m trying to tell him that. Hunk, don’t touch that!” A blast of static explodes right in his ear, drowning out any other noise, then disappears again. Pidge must've fixed something, because she sounds a lot clearer when she continues, “Sorry about that, Shiro. Now, do you see any strange, red flowers in your section of the caves?” 

He zeroes in on the left wall of the cave, but he checks every place in sight. Vines cover the shiny surface, thick as his wrist near the ground and finger-thin where they’ve burrowed through the stone roof. Several buds have sprouted red, tendril-like petals. 

He speaks up, looking at Sendak as he nods at the vines. “Six petals? We started seeing them a little over half an hour ago."

“That’s the one,” Pidge mutters, sounding disappointed. “How many do you see right now? According to my data, it only affects the human body when there are five or more in an enclosed area.”

“Affects?” That sounds bad. If the flowers affect humans, it could explain several of the things he's feeling. The damp heat, his flushed face, not to mention the shortness of breath. He assumed the temperature was responsible, but it could also stem from the flowers. Have the rest of the team been affected? 

He inhales sharply and swallows down the dread tightening his throat. “Right now we're seeing at least twenty, Pidge. What do you mean by affect?”

As Sendak turns fully to face him, he looks Shiro up and down, narrowing his eye before walking closer.

“Look, they’re _not_ lethal. It’s just…” Pidge’s voice trails off. With a pang of guilt, Shiro thinks back to when he and Allura pushed the team to train and train and _train_. She sounds as reluctant as she did then, asking for a break. 

It’s not hard to be their leader and force the calm back into his voice, the worst of his worries dispelled by the promise that the effect isn’t lethal. “It’s okay, Pidge. You can tell me.” 

Sendak stops a respectable distance, but even from there, Shiro can feel the warmth of his body. He fights the urge to take off his helmet and wipe the sweat from his brow. 

Pidge takes a deep breath on the other side of the line. “While looking for the crystal, Lance and Hunk started to get affected by those weird flowers."

This time, Shiro clearly hears the dialogue in the background. "Please don't tell him what we did," Hunk says, followed by an indignant shout from Lance.

Pidge powers through, not even acknowledging the distraction. "I analyzed it, and it looks like the flower releases spores into the air that have a major effect on our hormone production. It leads to shortness of breath, a rise in body temperature, and cardiac effects. In short, it… It acts as an aphrodisiac to humans, Shiro.”

He blinks. 

He glances up at Sendak just in time to catch the way his ears twitch. So Sendak heard Pidge, too.

Laughter wells up inside of him, bubbling up his chest and almost rushing out in relief. If that's the effect, they have no reason to worry. He doesn't let out the laugh, however. It would give Pidge the idea he's mocking her findings.

When Sendak steps even closer, leaning down to sniff at his neck, the heat of the cave and Sendak's body grows unbearable. Shiro shakes his head, using his forearm to push at Sendak's chest and reclaim a few inches of personal space. For his part, Sendak seems quite content to lean against Shiro's arm, sending him a curious look.

“Keith brought back a sample and I’m running further tests as we speak. He only saw like four of them, so he wasn’t affected.”

"I don't think I'm affected either, Pidge. I'm kind of warm, but that's just because of the temperature down here." He does laugh then, conveying to his team that everything's fine on their side. "I don't know why, but Sendak and I aren't feeling any different than usual. We still need that crystal, so the two of us will keep going until we find it. You guys head to the castle and get Coran to check you out."

Background static is all that he hears for a handful of seconds, before Pidge breaks the silence. "Shiro, the temperature in your part of the caves is 39 degrees right now."

As soon as she's said it, a wave of cold air hits him and Shiro shivers. He gasps, feeling like he just dove into ice cold water. Has the cave been that cold the entire time? 

"I-It can't be. It's... I would've noticed if I started feeling _that_ differently."

Sendak's mouth breaks out into a wide grin at that comment. Suddenly Shiro can feel the weight of Sendak's gaze on him, like he's physically pinned up against the cave wall by his bulk. Images flash through his mind of Sendak doing exactly that. When his cock twitches at the thought, Shiro swallows, realizing he has to concede the point. "Oh, no..."

"Unless feeling that way around me is not unusual for you," Sendak says, voice purring as he seems intent on destroying what remains of Shiro's pride. 

For a whole second, Shiro holds onto the hope that Pidge didn't hear that comment. Then her voice cuts in. "...I'm gonna mute my helmet now."


End file.
